Forum 7's Factbook Contest!

[Bloodshade]

Comparing both factbooks side by side, I find that TCM's format does stand out and even expresses the character of his nation's lore more than Albali's but when it comes to the content itself, I find that overview for the Albali Republic to be a better read. There's plenty of detailed information to paint a vivid picture of what and how the Albali Republic came to be, from the significance of a species to crucial technological advancements. The formation of the Albali Republic and how it persisted to be what it is today is an engaging read, filled with conflict, war and political intrigue. Although it's missing the potential of expanding on culture which is an entirely new beast to tame, I think the overview for the Albali Republic is a stellar read and has been an inspiration to me.

As for TCM's overview, I am very much intrigued by the concept at play as well as the thought put behind it. There's plenty of potential locked that could be exploited to make the Cosmic Mainframe stand out more so than it already is. Regardless, the current overview is fantastically concise and it already paints a clear picture of what TCM is like but in my opinion, the money is in the detail and I still feel like there is plenty to be expanded upon such as important events like the Epoch and the war between the Cosmic and Papal Mainframe. There are brief explanations here and there but I feel like there could be more to expand upon. What made them reach this conclusion? What did their organic creator think when creating the Cosmic Mainframe? So on and so forth.

With this brief explanation, I'm going to personally be voting for the Albali Republic's overview.

[New Carthagea]

Congrats Fallen Albali!

[Valentine Z]

Congratulations to Albali, and commiserations to Cosmic Mainframe for trying with their factbook. It really is an amazing work by itself, sorry that your only entry got knocked out.

Next up, we have:
Nevertopia – The Commonwealth of Nevertopia
New Carthagea / West Reveria – Overview Of West Reveria

All the best!

[Nevertopia]

I like Nevertopia's factbook, its pretty cool and doesnt afraid of anything.

seriously though, why is their factbook getting more votes than mine? What do they have that mine doesnt?

[Miranda-22]

I like Nevertopia's factbook, its pretty cool and doesnt afraid of anything.

'Tis true, it does not.

[Kiu Ghesik]

I like Nevertopia's factbook, its pretty cool and doesnt afraid of anything.

seriously though, why is their factbook getting more votes than mine? What do they have that mine doesnt?

I personally voted for NC's factbook because the images seemed to be broken in yours, or at least not loading on my device.

[Nevertopia]

I like Nevertopia's factbook, its pretty cool and doesnt afraid of anything.

seriously though, why is their factbook getting more votes than mine? What do they have that mine doesnt?

I personally voted for NC's factbook because the images seemed to be broken in yours, or at least not loading on my device.

oh ya they do that from time to time. Not sure why, but after awhile they start working again.

do you guys know of a better image hosting site? I think the one I used for my pictures bugs out after awhile.

[Valentine Z]

Huh, well that was a rather sudden change of ratios!

[Kiu Ghesik]

Also as an additional rule, which I thought I will put here and in the OP later: Since a flag bracket and a factbook bracket are entirely different breeds, after some feedback, I will let you guys edit if your factbook got outvoted (i.e. out of the contest), OR, 3 brackets before yours. So for instance, you are allowed to do some changes here and there (but not completely radical changes to the point of beyond recognition) three brackets (~ 3 days) before that particular factbook is up for voting.

Editing allowed is grammatical changes, small formatting fixes, here and there. But again, to keep up with the fairness of the game, please do NOT radically change them (e.g. if you have an Misc. factbook, do not change it so hard so as to one-up the bracket). If you are making changes, please do TG me so that we can keep track in the name of fairness.

Good luck! ♥

Hey, Val? Where can we find the brackets, so we can know when our editing cutoff is? I don't recall them being posted.

[Valentine Z]

Also as an additional rule, which I thought I will put here and in the OP later: Since a flag bracket and a factbook bracket are entirely different breeds, after some feedback, I will let you guys edit if your factbook got outvoted (i.e. out of the contest), OR, 3 brackets before yours. So for instance, you are allowed to do some changes here and there (but not completely radical changes to the point of beyond recognition) three brackets (~ 3 days) before that particular factbook is up for voting.

Editing allowed is grammatical changes, small formatting fixes, here and there. But again, to keep up with the fairness of the game, please do NOT radically change them (e.g. if you have an Misc. factbook, do not change it so hard so as to one-up the bracket). If you are making changes, please do TG me so that we can keep track in the name of fairness.

Good luck! ♥

Hey, Val? Where can we find the brackets, so we can know when our editing cutoff is? I don't recall them being posted.

Ahh, it's here!

So we will be finishing each category, so... this might get a little difficult for you guys on the editing period because after 28 entries, overview will have 14, then 7, and so on...

I like Nevertopia's factbook, its pretty cool and doesnt afraid of anything.

seriously though, why is their factbook getting more votes than mine? What do they have that mine doesnt?

Maybeee the relative lack of overconfidence.

[Kiu Ghesik]

Cheers, Val!

*edits at a furious rate*

[New Carthagea]

seriously though, why is their factbook getting more votes than mine? What do they have that mine doesnt?

A E S T H E T I C C
Lol. Anyways, I won't comment because I don't think talking about my own factbook during voting is very classy

[Kiu Ghesik]

I T ' S N E C K A N D N E C K !

[Nevertopia]

Huh, well that was a rather sudden change of ratios!

my images load again!

[Bloodshade]

Now that I've got the time to browse both factbooks, I'll start by saying that I think the formatting for both are easy on the eyes and clear to read. Although I will mention that for New Reveria, your 'West Reveria' title is invisible in dark mode and some might mistake it for empty space. I did check it out in light mode and it looks splendid but I would advise you to either 'force' light-mode for dark mode users by playing around with background colours and font colours or you can do something much less egregious and simply state at the top of the factbook that the following is best viewed in light mode. It's fine anyways. Just wanted to let you know.

Anyways, in regards to New Reveria's factbook, I admire the concise manner in which you've summarised your nation's aspects and presented it, although the credit goes to Zitravgrad for that. Still, it's very neatly done but in my personal opinion, I feel like this would work much better as a 'Quick Facts' style of factbook that would complement a main overview where one can expand on all those categories you've listed and much more. The concept New Reveria itself is something I've seen plenty of but that doesn't mean it's not been given a good amount of effort.

As for Nevertopia's factbook, I like the concept and the reasoning behind how so many familiar characters seem to be popping up in your nation. It does sound awfully familiar to the Witcher's Conjunction of Spheres. You've covered a suitable amount of lore within this overview. I do believe I have come across a couple or so nations that have brushed upon the whole idea of a land of fables but I like seeing it pop up. I'm not sure if I like or don't like the idea of adding hyperlinks to the factbook. On one hand, it's a good idea to highlight keywords and help push the reader into quickly forming an image of what your nation is like. On the other, there's just way too many and it's not as seamless as it looks on Wikipedia's articles. Also, some of your images don't load so I'd advise that you use a an image hosting website like imgur.com.

All in all though, I'd vote for Nevertopia's factbook due to the lore surrounding it but that doesn't take away from the fact that New Reveria's factbook is also a fun read so I can understand why it would go both ways.

I like Nevertopia's factbook, its pretty cool and doesnt afraid of anything.

seriously though, why is their factbook getting more votes than mine? What do they have that mine doesnt?

I might be giving you my vote but let's not act like this. No offence but It's awfully childish of you.

[Nevertopia]

Now that I've got the time to browse both factbooks, I'll start by saying that I think the formatting for both are easy on the eyes and clear to read. Although I will mention that for New Reveria, your 'West Reveria' title is invisible in dark mode and some might mistake it for empty space. I did check it out in light mode and it looks splendid but I would advise you to either 'force' light-mode for dark mode users by playing around with background colours and font colours or you can do something much less egregious and simply state at the top of the factbook that the following is best viewed in light mode. It's fine anyways. Just wanted to let you know.

Anyways, in regards to New Reveria's factbook, I admire the concise manner in which you've summarised your nation's aspects and presented it, although the credit goes to Zitravgrad for that. Still, it's very neatly done but in my personal opinion, I feel like this would work much better as a 'Quick Facts' style of factbook that would complement a main overview where one can expand on all those categories you've listed and much more. The concept New Reveria itself is something I've seen plenty of but that doesn't mean it's not been given a good amount of effort.

As for Nevertopia's factbook, I like the concept and the reasoning behind how so many familiar characters seem to be popping up in your nation. It does sound awfully familiar to the Witcher's Conjunction of Spheres. You've covered a suitable amount of lore within this overview. I do believe I have come across a couple or so nations that have brushed upon the whole idea of a land of fables but I like seeing it pop up. I'm not sure if I like or don't like the idea of adding hyperlinks to the factbook. On one hand, it's a good idea to highlight keywords and help push the reader into quickly forming an image of what your nation is like. On the other, there's just way too many and it's not as seamless as it looks on Wikipedia's articles. Also, some of your images don't load so I'd advise that you use a an image hosting website like imgur.com.

All in all though, I'd vote for Nevertopia's factbook due to the lore surrounding it but that doesn't take away from the fact that New Reveria's factbook is also a fun read so I can understand why it would go both ways.

I like Nevertopia's factbook, its pretty cool and doesnt afraid of anything.

seriously though, why is their factbook getting more votes than mine? What do they have that mine doesnt?

I might be giving you my vote but let's not act like this. No offence but It's awfully childish of you.

I think one of the limitations of online forums is its hard to understand the tone of my words. I dont understand why you find what I said offensive but I was trying to ask in an informal and casual tone where I was lacking in my factbook that gave my competitor such an early lead. I wasn't trying to throw shade or anything at them, I just want to know where do I need to improve my factbook in relation to what people liked about theirs.

[Bloodshade]

You just came off as rather insensitive regardless of tone to me. Don't take it to heart. C'est la vie.

[Sanghyeok]

Both factbooks are very well made- although with obviously different styles and formatting. I think that the "online wiki" style of Nevertopia is really unique and reminds me a lot of one of my favourite factbooks ever made, the one on culture from Feyrisshire (who I do wish had entered this contest). Meanwhile, the West Reveria factbook is similarly memorable because of how it has so many visuals, and the manner in which the information is presented is quite concise. Because the images in the first country's factbooks are not loading, I will wait until they can load to make a decision. Either way, it is really close and both entries accomplish their goals of being an overview.

[Valentine Z]

Congratulations to West Reveria / NC for the win! A very close one, I might add!

Next up, we have:
The Restored Danelaw / Sildorian Empire – Overview of the Sildorian Empire (Sildorian Empire)
Fallen Albali – Roulons overview

Pardon the redundancy in Sildorian Empire's factbook header. Good luck! ♥

[The Restored Danelaw]

O shit I'm up against Albali! Good luck!

[Kiu Ghesik]

Well, this is a hard one. On the one hand, Sildorian's factbook is complete (or nearly so, the only things I noticed being a single placeholder image and a few [image] tags at the bottom) and contains more content, by far. It describes the whole course of a civilization, it's inevitably going to have lots of content.

On the other, though, I'd say Albali's formatting is ever so slightly better, even though it uses floatright+box instead of sidebar (grr!) and is more of a WIP. It has less content, as well, but what's there is excellently presented, and the concept... well. The two concepts have to be compared to accurately measure that.

I think the ultimate clincher here is in terms of originality. Both are pretty unique concepts; however, Sildorian is pretty obviously a Stellaris nation. Nothing wrong with that- Stellaris is a good game, and a good tool for emergent storytelling- but it forces me to think of it in that context. I think you can describe Albali as a whole, the Republic, as a Stellaris nation, as well. However, Roulons specifically is more of an example of that emergent storytelling. It wouldn't be something you see come out of the game directly. It's something that doesn't pull the user out of the factbook to think about the game. You both got the Swarm, but Albali presents it more uniquely. And that's what tips my opinion one way, rather than the other.

Both are good in my opinion. They are roughly equal in formatting, though Albali's formatting stands out a little more. They are roughly equal in terms of amount of information, though Sildorian is more complete and contains more content. However, I think that Albali's concept is more creative. As such, I'm voting for Albali 2024. Make Roulons great again!

And yes, I shall now try to 1'up Bloodshade in writing review essays. Let the great battle begin.

[Fallen Albali]

O shit I'm up against Albali! Good luck!

yeah good luck buddy! <3

[Bani Musandam]

Wexas here. Man, I missed a lot of stuff, huh?

Aaaanyways, this is a rather hard choice. They're both pretty good and on their own, they'd both be up there in terms of factbook quality. However, I will have to choose Sildorian's factbook.

[Nevertopia]

Both factbooks are very well made- although with obviously different styles and formatting. I think that the "online wiki" style of Nevertopia is really unique and reminds me a lot of one of my favourite factbooks ever made, the one on culture from Feyrisshire (who I do wish had entered this contest). Meanwhile, the West Reveria factbook is similarly memorable because of how it has so many visuals, and the manner in which the information is presented is quite concise. Because the images in the first country's factbooks are not loading, I will wait until they can load to make a decision. Either way, it is really close and both entries accomplish their goals of being an overview.

I need more pictures and statistics. Got it. I'll be switching image hosting sites.

GG reveria.

Z is there a losers bracket of can I update my overview now?

[Bloodshade]

A very tough choice for me personally. When it comes to organisation and formatting, both factbooks follow a similar style which I approve of although I'll give the Sildorian Empire a slight edge when it comes to some of it's quirks, such as the Stellaris imagery and use of tables. There are no discontinuities in each person's overview and I think both flow rather smoothly. Both overviews are a joy to read and honestly, it's rather tough to pick although I will acknowledge that the Sildorian Empire's overview presents more content in a detailed manner. However, I find it tough mainly because of the fact that Roulons tells a long story as well due to its existence, as it is a 'sequel' to the Albali Republic. It's a great way of tying in lore to create a gripping story of loss. It's an extremely engaging story that grabbed my attention with its inception. I'd say the only shame here is culture as a whole being neglected, although it has been indicated to some extent in 'Demographics'.

Now looking at the story of the Sildorian Empire, I admire the idea behind it as well as the effort placed behind it. The sheer quality and quantity of it all, especially the history which I believe was the main focus of the factbook. The idea of a fledgling empire sprouting its wings and claiming the galaxy is a common one but the execution of it in this overview is spectacularly detailed to say the least. However, I'd say one issue is that the focus on history ended up sacrificing on the more intimate aspects of the Sildorian Empire. I still feel like I've only touched the surface of Sildoria. I want to learn more about the people of the nation, rather than the nation itself but that's not criticism. It's more of a suggestion.

It's very tough but I personally would vote for Fallen Albali's overview although I fully understand why one would lean to Sildoria's. Both are fantastic in their own right.

And yes, I shall now try to 1'up Bloodshade in writing review essays. Let the great battle begin.